Mugwort

My garden has recently been invaded by the Demon MUGWORT!!! It is resistant to weed killers (I wouldn't use them anyway) and when you cut the rhizome, it just makes more plants! I'm losing it.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Melissa

We've got Artemisia vulgaris here too. I think mine hitchhiked here with plants I purchased. Nasty plant because even the tiniest fragment of a rhizome left behind seems to produce a whole new plant to plague you. I hit it with Clopyralid a few times and that was the end of Artemisia vulgaris however you have expressed an interest in avoiding chemicals. You can't down it by burning it (tried that) which seems to make it mad but you should be able to smother it. Maybe try solarizing it with a tarp?

I have tried solarizing a section of my garden when I was in zone 5.

IMOHO and I'm sorry to say this, there is just not enough sun up there for that. Now that I'm living in Florida, it's within the realm of possibilities but up there, not a chance. We had a member in our old horticultural society who, against all odds, got rid of a goutweed (aegopodium) infestation using a propane-fired torch.

Here is a link to Lee Valley's web site showing the item in question. I don't work for Lee Valley, nor do I have any interests whatsoever in the company. They do, however, make outstanding products.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=47306&cat=2,2300,44822

Sylvain.

I've seen the propane torch weeders; I think that is the way to go. That's a good price. Knowing me, I'll start a bonfire, but if I do it during damp weather I can avoid that. I am also fighting nightshade. I had a horrible infestation of Pokeweed (I know; some think it's an ornamental, but I hate it), but it is so obvious when it sprouts, it's relatively easy to head off. Mugwort seems to be a sort of shapeshifter; it always looks like something that should be growing. I've mistaken it for a lot of seedlings. The torch looks like you can get just the weed while avoiding the plant you want to keep, which you certainly can't do with poisons.

It is too late for Christmas, but I'm going to ask DH for a torch weeder for my b-day, which is in Feb.!!!! I can't WAIT to see the little leaves of those weeds burn! My neighbors will wonder what all the demonic laughter is about!!!

With my luck, mugwort will evolve into being fireproof.. ;-)

This message was edited Dec 23, 2006 4:36 PM

Bad news, I think it already did evolve into being fireproof. Mugwort is rhizomatous and perennial which is probably why controlled burning hasn't been effective. If you burn off the above ground vegetation with either an acetylene or propane torch, the below ground rhizomes seem to grow back with a vengeance. I tried burning it a few years ago and that's what I was sort of saying when I commented above that "You can't down it by burning it (tried that) which seems to make it mad". After I tried to burn it, the underground rhizomes shot up two or three new plants where once there was only one.

Here's one study on the effects of fire on Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) from UC Davis but there are other published studies out there on the effects (lack of effects) of burning it. The information about burning is in the very first paragraph under abstract-
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/moredocs/artvul01.pdf

I am in zone 5 and have had really good luck solarizing many noxious weeds and invasives by using a thick dark plastic sheet. I have also had good luck smothering unwanted plants with people's unwanted carpeting which is nice and thick and generally free from the curb when people get new carpeting. It does have to be left in place for around 3-4 months though and there are some species where you have to leave it in place for several seasons which makes neighbors question your sanity. Fortunately, Mugwort is not said to be one where you would have to leave your plastic sheeting in place for several seasons although you may have to temporarily transplant desirable plants into another bed to be able to smother all of the Mugwort that you have. Please know that I didn't solarize my Mugwort because I was too lazy to transplant all of the desirable plants it was growing in and amongst so I hit it up with a sponge application of Clopyralid (Lontrel). I am told Dicamba (Banvel II) will destroy it too although that wasn't the herbicide I used. Once the chemical had worked its way down into the rhizomes, which only took a few weeks, I was then able to dig out the plant. I really don't like chemicals but every once in a while, I am just too darn tired to get rid of them using non-chemical approaches. I should also comment that I tried Glyphosate (Round Up) on it and that had little or no effect which it seems you already knew because this lousy rotten Mugwort is resistant to most herbicides but not to all herbicides.

The giant weed torch recommended by lourspolaire looks really good and the price is good too. Here's the one I was given as a gift-
http://www.flameengineering.com/Weed_Dragon.html
I probably would have asked for the giant weed torch lourspolaire found if I had seen it because it's more affordable and they basically do the same thing. At the forest preserve where I volunteer helping to control invasive species, they use acetylene torches. Acetylene torches are considerably more expensive and once again, they do basically the same thing as the giant weed torch and the weed dragon that I have.

What a COOL toy!!! I NEED it!!! The propane tank looks a little bulky, but it probably lasts the whole season. I'm sure it is just like breaking the rhizomes; causing more to sprout, but c'est la vie.

As with all weeds, I think the best any of us can do is to just destroy what we can; it's impossible to eradicate a weed that has wound it's way through mature perennial plantings (which my mugwort has done). The only rememdy for weeds at this stage of the game is to apply a brush killer to the whole bed and start over. I am directly abutting wetlands and my water well, so this is not possible. The solarization would be possible, but so much of the area is in dappled shade! I have a feeling the mugwort will just retreat to shade and re-emerge. (I refuse to give mugwort the distinction of calling by a Latin name!)

The problem for me is the strain from bending over. I'm a ripe old 45, but it's still too much work; my back hurts after a few hours. The weed torch looks as if you can use it standing up, which is good unless you enjoy 3rd degree burns.

Now I'm actually excited for weeds to emerge! Thanks, everyone!!!

Funny you are excited about a weed torch. I was accustomed to using an acetylene torch until I got my very own propane weed torch to use at home and I went out looking for weeds I could torch. It was rather fun for me. The propane tank will probably wheel around behind you so that you don't need to bend over at all or even pick it up. At least that's how mine works. I'm really glad I'm not the only person who was actually excited about torching ickies.

A few really neat weed tricks for people with back issues (I'm a little bit older than you and am always on the lookout for ways to save my back)-
This one was picked up from another member
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/587075/

There is a sponge tipped chemical applicator wand with a reservoir out there at Sears and it was pretty cheap and you just walk around and hit what ever you want to hit without ever bending over. Little risk of overspray that could kill near by plants because it's a sponge bottle not a spray bottle. I think it's about 3' long. It reminds me of a cane that you just reach over and nuke a plant with by touching the tip to the plant. Sort of the same principal as those shoe polish bottles with the sponge applicator tip only much longer.

Solarization doesn't necessarily need sun to work which is why it is effective in northern reaches. Plants need to photosynthesize and they do so even in dappled or full shade. Cut off their light source for a decent length of time whether it be direct or indirect light with a sheet of dark plastic or carpet throw aways and you can effectively waste them with no chemicals at all. One problem, you'll waste all the desirable plants in the area that you are "solarizing"/"smothering" too. Perhaps a better word would be smother. Granted, heat can build up underneath sheets of plastic and cook many an undesirable plant in record time but smothering can work just as well on many species if the plastic or carpet is left in place long enough. It's really exciting to me to go and peek under plastic or carpet after a month or so to watch ickies dieing a sloooooooow death. Makes my heart leap with joy.

Have fun when you get your new torch toy. I'm really glad I'm not the only person who was actually excited about torching ickies.

I solarized an invasion of wild purslane (that has roots that go to China - I swear!), using clear plastic. It took a year, but it worked. (I had pulled and dug, and everything else first, but it just thrived.) First you wet down the ground, then cover it with the clear plastic, sealing the edges with soil. This sets up a greenhouse effect and the plants are cooked. Later I covered it with mulch, just for looks, until I could safely remove it and plant. When I roughed up the soil with my hand fork, the roots were gone - composted in place. I haven't had any return and that was 5 or 6 years ago. Extension recommends the clear plastic over the black plastic, which surprised me.

Help! We moved into a new house & didn't realize we had artemisia & it's problems. I tried to weed it, then to till it & then to roundup it before reading about it here. Sigh. Now it's gone totally bananas & I think I have to solarize. Rhizomes!!! Who knew? Now I'm relatively new at gardening in the ground. If I use a black plastic to solarize, how is that different than using black plastic as a mulch as you would around tomatoes or what have you--so that--could I solarize AND cut small holes in the plastic to have tomatoes in this space? Don't people do that? (I've never used black plastic before except to line my hanging baskets.) I'm desparate to keep this space available for veggies this year & don't know how to do that & kill off the artemisia. Maybe it's not possible?

Did you use a rototiller or by hand? There is a school of thought that says it kicks up more weeds than it helps. The only 100% solution would be a brush killer, But then you'd have to wait b/f growing tomatoes. I'd even wait a year using roundup. Everyone on the forums talks about tilling soil as a given, but I've begun adding compost to the top and letting the earthworms do the tilling. That's how nature makes soil. I do believe I have more weeds with the tilling. If you dumped lots of nice organic compost on top of the stuff, planted and mulched the heck out of your tomatoes, then you can hand-pick emergent weeds. You may smother quite a bit of the stuff in this process.

Thanks! I don't mind pulling weeds, except when it comes back worse than before! I'm trying to grow some compost, but our neighborhood bear seems to enjoy the veggies too much...

Of course, trying to get rid of mugwort by burning results in... moxibustion!

Yes, that is a real word, sometimes spelled moxabustion.

I think it helps to dry the plant first, though, perhaps make it into moxa sticks.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxibustion for more information. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem any use in eliminating the weed.

Mark., useless trivia

Thanks, Mark! So I will get super powers if I burn it!? LOL-- I can always eliminate the weed by calling it a "medicinal herb"-- that's one way to kill it, by trying to cultivate it. Maybe I can sell it on ebay.. TG for Wikipedia!